The global Information Technology revolution will not cut demand for air travel; in fact, the opposite is likely to prove true, according to an environmental audit report released by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) last week.

The report is part of a self-critical environmental audit conducted annually by SAS to monitor the impact of its operations on the environment. SAS is one of the few global airlines that undertakes this self-scrutiny within the context of stringent local, regional and global laws that are making multinational businesses increasingly accountable.

For both cost-cutting and environmental reasons, this year’s report is only on the Internet <www.scandinavian.net/environment> in PDF format. All printed copies have been dispensed with, and are likely to stay that way.

Addressing one of the more rigorously debated issues in recent times — the impact of IT on high-yield traffic like business and meetings travel — the report says that while “a great deal of travel and meetings between people have indeed been replaced by telecommunication, which may also entail potential environmental benefits, there is no evidence that telecommunication will yield any overall reduction in air travel.

“Studies show that errands of a more trivial nature, such as bank errands or more routine contact, are being replaced by telecommunication. The need for face-to-face meetings in the creative area, such as research and development, marketing and design is increasing at the same time. Creative and intellectual processes that involve argumentation or negotiation demand physical contact, and IT is inadequate as a tool in these cases.”

The report cites a study by George Mason University outside Washington, D.C. It shows that passenger transportation declines proportionate to the increase in IT utilisation, but only in regions with low-tech businesses. Passenger transportation, and air travel in particular, increases on the other hand within and to and from communities with high-tech businesses.

Another report from Germany’s University of Karlsruhe quoted by the SAS report indicates that the Internet in general may lead to a higher demand for travel.

“It points out that chat friends will want to meet in person sooner or later, that individuals surfing the Internet for tourist destinations will decide eventually to travel to these destinations, and that anyone who has learned how to find good prices for a product via the Internet will continue to make purchases on the Internet.

“This results in an overall higher demand for transportation, especially air transportation,” the report asserts.

The airline business accounts for about 86% of the SAS Group’s total environmental impact, chiefly from the use of fossil fuels, the combustion of which increases atmospheric carbon dioxide, contributing to global climate change.

Hotel operations and other businesses account for 12% and 2% respectively of the Group’s total environmental impact, chiefly because of energy and water consumption, but also through consumption of materials and chemicals as well as waste generation.

One innovation is the launch of an ecalculator, <www.scandinavian.net/ecalculator> that allows passengers to estimate their share of aircraft emissions when they travel with SAS.

Though the estimation of aircraft emissions is not yet a perfect science, passengers can calculate the impact their journey is having on the environment based on operating parameters like load onboard, flight profile, temperature, winds, fuel and engine/aircraft characteristics.

SAS believes this will become a major issue in future as the number of customers wanting to know how great an impact their employees’ air travel or air cargo has on the environment has increased greatly in recent years. It believes that as stringent environmental policies become part of the corporate agenda, business travellers will be required to fly environmentally friendly airlines.

Similarly, the report says that SAS is requiring its own subcontractors to maintain certain environmental, ethical and social standards. This, because global watchdog groups monitoring multinational corporations are no longer willing to accept claims that sub-contractors are responsible for problems.

Even if the claims are true, the report says, it “doesn’t matter – the revelation of discrepancies just as often affects the principal contractor.”

SAS does its environmental audit in nearly as much depth as its financial. For airlines, like most businesses, the trick is reduce environmental emissions even while growing productivity and bottom line. This means a constant search for efficiencies that can often be thrown out of kilter by factors outside their control.

While the report outlines the progress the airline has made, inspite of the difficult economic conditions, it does ‘come clean’ in areas where it has fallen short.

The report admits that one of its unmet environmental targets was related to the delay in purchase of new environmentally-friendlier aircraft, equipped with more efficient engines, as a result of the economic crisis.

It owns up to the fines that some of its subsidiary airlines have had to pay for violating take-off and landing rules. It also notes that its subsidiary hotel group Rezidor SAS Hospitality’s Dusseldorf property was fined for not complying with the city’s building and safety codes, which resulted in a fix-up costing about several million dollars.

Another group hotel in Stavanger was hit by several cases of Legionnaire’s disease, some fatal, which were traced to legionella bacteria traced to the ventilation and air-conditioning system. The hotel has responded with all applicable regulations and maintenance routines and made it clear that it will take responsibility if it is proved that the hotel is liable. So far, no charges have been filed.

Peace Through Tourism

How Travel & Tourism Can Help Restore the Balance in the Emerging New World Order

"The travel & tourism buzzword of the 21st century will be the search for balance."

That forecast was made by Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Editor, Travel Impact Newswire, in the monthly strategic intelligence publication of PATA, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, way back in February 1999. Today, it is proving spot-on as the word "balance" resonates across all industry sectors.

Travel industry conferences seeking a speaker who can offer some unique historical hindsight, unconventional foresight and thought-provoking insight on how to rebuild and restore the balance in Asia Pacific travel & tourism can email Imtiaz Muqbil by clicking here.

There Can Be No Sustainability Without Spirituality

The New World Order will be dominated by a resurgence of spirituality.

Imtiaz Muqbil claims to be the world's only travel journalist to have visited the Holy Spots of all the major world religions -- Lumbhini, Bodhgaya, Varanasi, Nalanda, Jerusalem, Vatican City, Amritsar, Makkah, Madinah, Najaf and Karbala, as well as religious spots such as Angkor Wat, Bagan, Shwedagon Pagoda, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of The Tooth, Somnath Temple, Samarkand, Bukhara and many other great mosques, shrines, temples and cathedrals worldwide.

Sustainability, ecotourism and health & wellness travel have all become so 'yesterday'. Prepare for the new generation of travel in the New World Order and raise the bar of your next conference, management forum or seminar by hearing Imtiaz Muqbil's thoughts on this unmatched game- and life-changing experience.

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Secrets of Thailand's Tourism Success

Why the Amazing Kingdom is notching up record-breaking arrivals, and what challenges it faces next

The Thai tourism industry has become by far the Kingdom's most successful service sector, one of its leading job-creators and foreign exchange-earners. Behind this success lies a fascinating history of great branding campaigns, policy and regulatory changes, budgetary bunfights, strategic thinking and influence of Royal events.

But this success has now bred a new set of management challenges that may be more difficult to overcome.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has been monitoring the pulse of the Thai travel industry full-time since 1981. Industry conferences and management meetings wishing to benefit from a treasure trove of insights and hindsights on one of the world's great tourism success stories can drop an email here: imtiaz@travel-impact-newswire.com.

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The Rise of the Whistle-Blowers

For 15 years (January 1997-July 2012), Imtiaz Muqbil penned a hard-hitting fortnightly column called “Soul-Searching” in the so-called “newspaper you can trust”. In July 2012, the column was gagged, with no explanation.

Over the years, four columns had explicitly forecast the rise of whistle-blowers -- a prediction now coming 100% true. Read the four columns by clicking on the links below.

Too Bad Your Ad Is Not in This Spot

Space available for unique ads that demonstrate commitment to helping physically-challenged people, building global peace, improving social and cultural cohesion, providing opportunities for the under-privileged, alleviating poverty and combatting global injustice & corruption.

If your product is not meeting any of the above goals, please advertise elsewhere.

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News Vs Noise

A Unique Course for Travel & Tourism Communicators In The Internet Era

By far the vast majority of media communications in the travel industry is boring, banal and bland. The same way it has been for the last 30 years.

Travel Impact Newswire Executive Editor Imtiaz Muqbil has designed a special communications course to help upgrade both the context and the content of industry media material, and make it more interesting, readable and, most important, relevant.